Cottbus unveils competition lineup

Four Russian films in main section

MOSCOW — Features representing the work of 10 Central and Eastern European countries will compete in the Cottbus Film Festival at its 18th edition next month.

One of the world’s leading showcases of Eastern European film, held in Cottbus, a former East German town South East of Berlin, the competition program includes nine German premieres, the festival announced Friday.

The 10 films in competition include three international co-productions, of which two were made with German partners, the festival said in a statement.

“Traditionally strong Czech cinema is represented with two films, while the revived Russian cinematography — by far the most productive film nation of Eastern Europe — has substantial involvement in four works,” the festival said.

“While there is stylistic diversity, a thematic relationship makes itself clearly felt between the films. Five of the 10 nominated titles deal with an existence far away from the hectic and glittering life of the big city. The harsh and tradition-bound living conditions in the country are often in conflict with the supposedly free and progressive conditions in the city.”

The competition lineup includes: Sergei Dvortsevoy’s story of the search for a bride on the Kazakh steppe, “Tulpan”; Mikhail Kalatozishvili’s visually stunning story of a man in a remote, desolate region, “Wild Flowers”; Kornel Mundruczo’s “Delta”; Bohdan Slama’s “Country Teacher,” about a homosexual teacher who escapes to the country from the big city; Vladimir Kott’s “Mucha,” set in a provincial Russian town; Michaela Pavlatova’s suburban Prague tale, “Night Owls”; Anca Damian’s “Crossing Dates”; Michal Rosa’s “Scratch”; Arsen Anton Ostojic’s “No One’s Son”; and Alexei Uchitel’s unusual Chechen war story “Captive.”